Personal Development Books | Motivation Manifesto

The beautiful black cover with golden letters caught my eye when I was browsing the personal development books in one of my favourite book stores the other day.

Although first published six years ago, The Motivation Manifesto is a timeless call for taking action NOW and to reclaim our personal power and freedom.

The author emphasizes that “it is the main motivation of humankind to be free, to express our true selves and pursue our dreams without restriction.”

To find personal freedom, however, we need to choose love over fear, and we need to step out of our comfort zone instead of following the masses. That ‘some day’ when we hope that everything will get better, will never arrive.

The power to stand tall and follow our heart and dreams comes from within. It is our choice every single moment of each day. We either become trapped in the conformity of the masses or we choose “to ascend to a higher plane of consciousness and joy.”

Unfortunately, the majority of people are “lost in the abyss of unawareness.” They don’t see the beauty around them; they miss the energy of love and the blessings that come with it. They miss the importance of the present moment, which is where life happens and which is all that we have.

In the first part of The Motivation Manifesto, the author elaborates on Freedom, Fear, and Motivation, how we can use motivation to overcome fear on our way to personal freedom.

The second part lists the nine declarations:

1. We shall meet life with full presence and power

Reality is only in the present moment, and we must learn to face it, feel it, and form it. And only by stopping to live in the past or future, can we gain greater presence. Being fully present means to observe but also to choose our roles and behaviours every day. We can choose any or a combination of these six roles:

Observer, Director, Guardian, Warrior, Lover, and Leader. By activating these roles, motivation will arise and vibrancy will emanate through us.

2. We shall reclaim our agenda

We need to master our days and keep asking ourselves:

Did we spend our day with meaningful activities? Did we stay true to ourselves? Did we make our time count? What did we do to get one step closer to our dream? Am I proud of who I am and the person I am becoming? Have I felt grateful about this day and the opportunities it presented to me? Have I followed my purpose?

We shall defeat our demons

It is our thoughts, not our circumstances that defeat our freedom and success. Faith is a deep conviction, confidence in our beliefs about what is true. A powerful affirmation to remind us that everything is achievable if we are committed, disciplined, and determined:

“I believe in my ability to learn and figure things out. With enough focus, time, effort, and dedication, I believe I can learn to do what must be done and become who I must become to achieve my dreams.”

We shall advance with abandon

Everything we need is accessible in the Here and Now. It is up to us to see abundance within and around us. And our reality is bendable. Vision always trumps reality. And if our dreams have more weight than our circumstances, we know we can change our circumstances with work and commitment. Only action allows us to create, to change, to move forward, and to grow in the person we want to become.

We shall practice joy and gratitude

The author questions where our emotional energy has disappeared. Although we all have been gifted with vitality, enthusiasm, will, and strengths, the emotional energy of the world is flat lining. Drained life energy is omnipresent; vitality, freedom and positivity seem to have vanished in many people’s lives. If we want to feel joy and gratitude in our lives, it’s up to us to transform the energy we feel at any moment into joy and appreciation. We need to practice this on a daily basis.

We shall not break integrity

Personal freedom can only be achieved if we stay true to our dreams, our loving nature, and ourselves. So we first need to know who we are and what we stand for. The author suggests looking at three areas of our life: our character, our connections, and our contributions. He further elaborates on six practices of integrity, which do not require anything extraordinary but daily awareness:

Think before you act. Never commit to anything where you lack passion. Keep your word. Always treat others with respect. Tell the truth. Always favour action.

We are losing our integrity when we face one of these seven temptations: impatience, disappointment, desperation, aggression, hurt, loyalty, and power.

We shall amplify love

Love is our original and final destination. Love is abundant. Love is divine energy, always present and flowing through the Universe. It is up to us to feel it, let it emanate through us and share it. “To open oneself to and release love is the highest act of courage and the highest freedom.”

We shall inspire greatness

Albert Schweitzer said that “the only ones among us who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.”

What can you do more to serve others? By striving for a better life and a better world, we can inspire others if we come from a genuine place of service.

Inspire the nine virtues of greatness: honesty, responsibility, intelligence, excellence, courage, respect, vigilance, service, and unity.

We shall slow time

“Life is meant to be a vibrant, deeply felt, growing mosaic of meaningful moments. … Even in darker times, we should look around us with awe, taking in the beautiful scenes and small wonders that surely abound.”

To slow down, we have one powerful tool and that is our breath. It is available to us at any time of the day. The author reminds us that every moment is an opportunity, a blank space, an open field of possibilities ready to be explored. It is up to us to slow down, feel it and make most of it.

The Motivation Manifesto is a motivational and easy read to remind us of our innate power to create the life of our dreams.